Butadon
Sweet-savoury simmered pork over a bowl of rice.
Ingredients
- 300 g Pork loin
- 1 Onion
- 400 g Japanese short-grain rice
- 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 3 tbsp Mirin
- 2 tbsp Sake
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2 Scallions (optional)
Method
- Rinse the rice in cold water until it runs nearly clear, then drain.
- Combine the rice with an equal volume of fresh water in a heavy saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil, then drop to low and cook until the water is absorbed, about 12 minutes.
- Leave the rice covered off the heat to steam and finish, about 10 minutes.
- While the rice cooks, slice the pork loin and onion thinly and thinly slice the scallions.
- In a pan, simmer the onion in the soy, mirin, sake, and sugar until softened, then add the pork and cook until just done, about 8 minutes total.
- Spoon the pork and onion over the hot rice and top with sliced scallion.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Butadon
Butadon is a Japanese donburi — a rice bowl topped with something simmered or grilled — and this one belongs to the quick, homey end of the genre: thin-sliced pork loin cooked down with onion in a sweet-savory sauce and spooned over hot rice. The braising liquid is the classic Japanese quartet of soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar, which reduces to a glossy glaze that coats the meat and seeps down into the rice below. Getting the short-grain rice right — rinsed until the water runs nearly clear, then steamed and rested — matters as much as the pork, since the bowl lives or dies on it.
The result is comforting and balanced: the pork stays tender because it's sliced thin and cooked only until just done, the onion turns soft and sweet, and the salty-sweet sauce ties it to the fluffy rice. Scallions on top add a fresh, sharp bite against the richness. It's fast — under 20 minutes — and a natural single-bowl lunch or weeknight dinner, the kind of dish Japanese home cooks and diners turn to when they want something satisfying without a lot of fuss.
Butadon: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Butadon?
A serving has about 423 calories — 26.7g protein, 49.5g carbs, 10g fat, 1.3g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 26.7g of protein, roughly 25% of its calories.
Is Butadon gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu). You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Do I need every ingredient to make Butadon?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out scallions — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Butadon make?
This recipe makes 3 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.